Circular loom



March 10, 1942. E. KINSELLA ETAL 2,275,529

CIRCULAR LOOM Filed Nov. 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Shet l t /a KmsELLA oss .- mum March 10, 1942. E. KINSELLA ET AL. 2,275,529

CIRCULAR LOOM Filed Nov. 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E-KJNSELLA A c R 35m: 3 rmpron/ W5 Patented Mar. 10, 1942 Edward Kinsella and Am- Derby, England, assign ration of America, a co Application. November 14 In Great Britain 10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in or relating to circular looms of the type in which the shuttles are positioned within the sheds by means of vane-wheels. penetrating the sheets of warp threads at one side of the respective shuted Cross, Spondon, near ors to Celanese Corporporation of Delaware 1940, Serial No. 365,612 December 2, 1939 spaced points of support (betwee'nvane-wheel and flanged rollers) at the other. Again, an r approach is made to four points lying at the tles toengage flanged rollers carried. by the shuttles and by means of rollers carried by the shuttles to bear against a circular race at the other side of the shuttles, the other sheets of warp threads passing between the rollers and the race, the. thrusts applied. to opposite sides of the shuttles. serving to hold the shuttles stably in weaving position. The vane-wheels are rotated so as to permit warp threads in the sheets penetrated by the vane-wheels to pass in groups through. the slots. between. the vanes from one face of a vane-wheel tothe other, so that the re quired relative circumferential movement between 1 the shuttles andthe warps may take place, the circumferential thrust on the shuttles necessary for this relative movement being provided by the contact between. the forward faces of the vane-wheels. and the rearward faces of the flanged rollers.

According to the present invention, each. shuttle. carries a pair of rollers to bear against a circular. race at one side of the shuttle and spaced well apart fromeach other and two flanged rollers. to. be contacted by a. vane-wheel at the other side of the shuttle disposed substantially mid-way between the two rollers. The pair of rollers and the circular race may constitute the sole support of the shuttle at the side of the shuttle on. which the race lies, in which case vane-Wheels of substantial" diameter should be used to provide the support at the other side of the shuttle because of theneed to space the pair of flanged rollers. fairly widely in a direction at right anglesto the direction of fore-and-aft spacing of the race-engaging rollers. With such an. arrangement a four-point positioning of each shuttle is provided, the, four points lying at the corners of a tetrahedron.

The invention also includes an arrangement in which vane-wheels of small diameter are used, the pair of flanged rollers then being closely spaced, and in this case an additional rollerengaging race is provided at the one side of the shuttle. The two races arefspaced apart by an amount exceeding the: spacing of the flanged rollers, to restore any loss of stability resulting from the: closer spacingo'f the'latter'. It issuificient: for only one: roller to engage the additional race, there then. being three points of support (i; e. between rollers and races) at the corners of a flat tetrahedron, and, this approach is made still closer if the two flanged rollers are mounted on a member pivoted to the shuttle body, because the ultimate positioning thrust of the vane-wheel is applied to the shuttle body through this pivot. The thrust of the vanewheel should, of course, lie between the two races. y

The need for smooth contact between the vanewheels and the flanged rollers generally makes it desirable to employ two vane-wheels side by side operating with two correspondingly spaced flanges on eachflanged roller, so that by staggering the slots in the two vane-wheels uninterrupted contact is obtainedbteween the peripheries of the vane-wheels and the barrels of the flanged rollers andbetween the faces of the vane-wheels and the faces of the flanges. The two vane-wheels are, however, so closely spaced, compared with the fore-and-aft spacing of the two rollers engaging the one circular race, that the doubling of the number of points of contact between vane-wheels and flanged rollers does not materially affect the consideration mentioned above, viz. that there should be four virtual points of support for each shuttle, the points lyingat the corners of a tetrahedron.

The invention has the advantage that uniform positioning of the several shuttles of the l'oom is greatly simplified, since when each shuttle is pressed into position by the one vane-wheel (or closely-spaced pair of vane-wheels), the two rollers that engage the same race at the other side of the shuttle receive from the race substantially equal thrusts in opposition to the substantially equal thrusts imparted by thevane-wheel to the two flanged rollers disposed midway between the race-engaging rollers. I Arising from this: simplified mounting, each shuttle can be held with considerable rigidity.

A-notherimp'ortant advantageis that the shuttle body is much more compact than when two vane-wheels (or closely-spaced pairs of vanewheels) are used at the one side of the shuttle. In particular, the fore-and-aft dimensions of the shuttle can be very much reduced, so that in any the flanged rollers tion are shown in Figs. 1-6 of the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a front elevation of one form of tle; i

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of Fig. 1, partly in section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a front shuttle;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of Fig. 4, partly in section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a plan taken on the line Ei--5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation of aloom suitable for the shuttle shown in Figs. 4-6.

Referring to Fig. '7, a typical form of circular loom suitable for employment of the vane-wheel type of shuttle-positioning means according to the invention has the warp threads proceeding downwardly from a number of beams a, the warps reaching a substantially cylindrical form shutelevation of another form of over a length extending from a comb b to the fell of the fabric being woven. The warp are divided into inner'and outer sheets 6, d in ad- Vance ofeach shuttle f by means of shedding wheels g operating in conjunction with a reed h of which some of the dents are perforated (not shown) so that some of the warp threads (being threaded through the perforations) do not below the level of the reed h partake of the radial displacement forced on the remainder of the warp threads (not threaded through the perforations). Each shuttle 1 passes between two such sheets of warp threads to lay its weft, and the two sheets unite behind each shuttle in readiness for separation into a new sheet to receive the subsequent shuttle. The shuttles f are positioned within the sheds formed by the pairs of warp sheets d, e and are propelled round the loom by means of Vanewheels k carried on rapidly rotating horizontal shafts Z substantially tangential to the warp cylinder, the shafts I being carried by a, ring m that rotates about the axis n of the loom. The wheels 9 are likewise carried by the ring m. The function of the vane-wheels will appear more fully from the following description of Figs. l3 and 4-6 respectively.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, a shuttle comprises a plate I, above which are secured plates 2, 3 spaced apart by a connecting plate 4 that serves to carry a weft cheese or spool 5. At the front of the shuttle is a warp-feeler 6, which, when it encounters jammed warps, moves backwards towards the plate I. The plate I ends in an edge 1 at the foot of the shuttle by which weft is beaten up into the fabric.

Secured to the plate I and plate 3 is a frame 8 forming bearings 9 for horizontal flanged rollers l0, each of which lies between the two sides of the frame so as to be rigidly positioned. Each roller I0 is duplex in character, its barrel ll carrying two spaced flanges l2. A fibre pad 13 lies to the left of the rear flange l2.

Angle plates 14 are secured horizontally to the frame 8 and carry bearings l for rollers I5 disposed forwardly and rearwardly of the frame. Below and in front of the lower flanged roller I0 is a warp guard [1.

A pair of vane-wheels l8 are carried by a horizontal shaft I9 at the outer side of the shuttle. The diameter of the vane-wheels is somewhat greater than the distance between the axes of i0, and the vane-wheels penetrate the outer warp sheet 6 to contact with their peripheries on the barrel ll of the flanged rollers. At the same time, the two rollers I6 contact with the circular-race 20 inside the warp cylinder, the race having a rubber covering 2| that permits the rollers 16 to run over the threads of the inner warp sheet 6 without damaging them. It is generally convenient for the rollers 16 and the face of the race 2!] to be slightly inclined, as shown.

The bearings of the vane-wheel shaft I?! are movable in a radial direction and can be locked in'adjusted position by means which are usual in this type of circular loom, and do not, therefore, need to be described. To secure a shuttle in the loom, the shuttle is slipped between the warp sheets 11, e; and, with the two rollers l6 held against the rubber-covered race 20, the pair of closely-spaced vane-wheels I8 is pressed radially inwards into contact with the barrels ll of the two flanged rollers H]. The pressure is substantially evenly distributed between the two rollers Ill, and, because these rollers are positioned midway between the fore-and-aft rear rollers I6, a substantially equal pressure is applied by the two rollers 16 to the race 20. The shuttle is thus held by pressures applied at four points so disposed that the two pairs of corresponding thrusts applied to opposite sides of the shuttle hold the shuttle stably in weaving position.

The operative can readily apply the necessary pressure to the single pair of vane-wheels, and the arrangement permits him to determine that all the shuttles are held with substantially the same firmness, a factor of some importance in obtaining uniform weaving in such fabrics as taffetas, as well as in avoiding excessive wear of vane-wheels or flanged rollers.

The slots in the vane-wheels l8 are sharply inclined as shown in Fig. 3 so as to permit the front end of one vane to overlap the rear end of the preceding vane in the edgewise view of the vane-wheel, so that in spite of the presence of these slots uninterrupted contact is made between the periphery of the vane-wheel and the barrels ll of the flanged rollers I0. Similarly, although the slots interrupt the face of the vanewheels, the face of one vane makes contact with the flange l2 of any flanged roller before the face of the preceding vane has left the flange. The slots of the two closely-spaced vane-wheels are, moreover, staggered with respect to each other.

The circumferential thrust by which the shuttle is propelled through the shed is substantially equally distributed between the two corresponding flanges l2 engaged by each vane-wheel. It follows, therefore, that any tendency to wear arising from the circumferential thrust between the shuttle and the vane-wheels is substantially equally distributed between the two pairs of flanges.

It is advisable, however, to employ very hard materials for both vane-wheels and flanged rollers, e. g. nitrided steel, to reduce wear to a minimum and avoid the production of sharp edges that might damage the warps. A lubricant should also be applied to the peripheries of the vane-wheels.

The fibre pads 13 on the flanged rollers [0 prevent damage occurring by reason of the tendency of a shuttle to overrun when the loom stops, the pads being interposed between the forward vanewheel I8 and the rearward pair of flanges [2. The guard I1 lies flush with the outer warp sheet e, and prevents warp threads being carried into Referring to Figs. 46, the shuttle body and l the plate 3 are secured to a frame 22 in which a second frame 23 is mounted on a pivot 24; Two duplex flanged rollers I2 lie between the sides of the frame 23 and are engaged by a pair of vane-wheels 25. Thewheels 25 are smaller than the wheels N3 of Figs. 1-3, and the rollers l2 are spaced correspondingly closer. The smaller diameter of the vane-wheels is advantageous in that it permits the flanged rol'lersto be driven at a lower speed in relation to the speed at which the shuttles are driven round the loom; consequently, higher loom speeds can be reached without calling for impracticably high flanged roller speeds.

The frame 22 carries an upper pair of rear rollers 26 for engagement with an upper circular race 2-! covered a lower rear roller 29 for engagement with a second circular race 30 covered with rubber 3|. The faces of the races 21, 30 may be inclined as shown in Fig. 5, the rollers 2t, 29 being correspondingly inclined.

The upper rear rollers 26 are spaced fore-andaft. as far as is permitted by the frame 22; the lower roller 29 is centrally disposed, slightly below the level of the lower flanged roller 12.

The vertical spacing of the races 2T, 30 is greater than the spacing between the points of contact between the vane-wheels and the flanged rollers. When positioning pressure is applied by the pair or vane-wheels 25. this pressure is distributed between the pair of flanged rollers [2 by the rocking of the frame Z3 about its pivot 24 parallel to the axes of the flanged rollers l2. The thrust thus exerted through the frame 23 to the shuttle proper from one side of the shuttle is opposed by the three thrusts exerted by the races 21, 38 through the three rear rollers 9. In both forms of shuttle above described, the positioning of the flanged rollers I2 at substantially. the mid-point of the shuttle (i. e. in the fore-and-aft direction) permits the maximum diameter of flanged roller to be used. This will be clear by reference to the lower flangedroller in each case (see Figs. 2 and 5), the roller occupying substantially the whole of the space betweenthe two warp sheets d, e. (The upper flanged roller lies in a thicker part: of the shuttle, and its accommodation is not so difficult). Forwardly and rearwardly of the mid-point of the shuttle the warp sheets are more closely spaced, and the curvature of the shuttle also reduces the space available for flanged rollers as compared with the space available point. From what has already been said with regard to the effect on loom-speed of the diameter of the vane-wheels, it will be clear that by using the maximum space available in the shuttle for the flanged rollers to permit the largest diameter of flanged roller to be used, the flanged roller speed may be reduced to a minimum for any given loom speed.

Although the maximum diameter of flanged roller is used, the fore-and-aft dimension of the shuttle body (members I and 8 in Fig. 1 and members I and duced to a minimum, because there is still ample width for the rear rollers 16 and 26, respectively, to be placed between the warp sheets even though they are well spaced apart in their foreand-aft positions in the shuttle body. The overwith rubber 28, and also at the mid- 22 in Fig. 4) may be reiii) . wheel for. each shuttle all lengthwise dimension of the shuttle is then substantially determined by the diameter of the weft cheese or spool (which for eflicient runningtshould be as large as possible) and by the space that must necessarily be provided at the front of the shuttle for the warp feeler 6. Apart fromshuttle length, the only other factor determining the number of shuttles that can be accommodated in a given loom periphery is the space that must be provided between successive shuttles for forming a new shed, and this is a fixed amount in any particular 100m. lows then that by permitting the flanged rollers and rear rollers to fall within a space substantially equal to the fore-ancl-aft space required for the cheese orspool (as is apparent from Figs. 1 and 4), the invention provides for the accommodation of the maximum number of shuttles in any given size of loom. This in turn leads to maximum output, since output is directly proportional to the number of shuttles. l

The two other main advantages of the invention may also be recapitulated:

The possibility of substantially uniform positioning of all the shuttles of a loom, which leads to uniform weaving; and

The reduction of flanged roller speed in relation to loom speed, which allows higher loom speeds and leads, therefore, to higher output.

This advantage is especially noticeable in the case of the arrangement shown in Figs. 4-6, because of the small diameter of vane-wheel permitted by that arrangement.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A circular loom of the character described, comprising shuttles eac of which carries a pair of rollers well spaced apart. from each other in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and a pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttie between the first pair of rollers, a circular race against which. the first pairof rollers hear at one side of the shuttle and a rotatable vaneto contact with the pair of flanged rollers at the other side of the shuttle.

2. A circular loom of the character described, comprising shuttles each of which carries a pair of rollers well spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle, a further roller intermediately spaced in the said direction with reference to said pairs. of rollers and also spaced therefrom in the direction of the height of the shuttle, and: a. pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially midwayin the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers, two circular races against which the first pair of rollers and the further roiler respectively bear at one side of the shuttle, and a rotatable vane-wheel for each shuttle to contact with the pair of flanged rollers at the other side of the member and the flanged rollers being disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers, two circular races against which the first pair of rollers and the further roller respectively hear at one side of the shuttle, and a rotatable vanewheel for each shuttle to contact with the pair of flanged rollers at the other side of the shuttle.

4. A circular loom of the character described, comprising shuttles each of which carries a pair of rollers well spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle, a further roller intermediately spaced in the said direction with reference to said pairs of rollers and also spaced therefrom in the direction of the height of the shuttle, and a pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers, two circular races against which the first pair of rollers and the further roller respectively bear at one side of the shuttle, and a rotatable vane-wheel for each shuttle to contact with the pair of flanged rollers at the other side of the shuttle, the spacing between the two circular races being greater than the spacing between the points of contact of the flanged rollers with the vane-wheel.

5. A circular loom of the character described, comprising shuttles each of which carries a pair of rollers well spaced apart from each other in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and a pair of duplex flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers, a circular race against which the first pair of rollers bears at one side of the shuttle and a pair of closely s aced rotatable vane-wheels for each shuttle to contact with the pair of flanged rollers at the other side of the shuttle.

6. A shuttle for a circular loom of the character described, said shuttles comprising a pair of rollers well spaced apart in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and adapted for contact with a circular race at one side of the shuttle and a pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially mid-way in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers and adapted to be contacted by a vane-wheel at the other side of the shuttle.

'7. A shuttle for a circular loom of the character described, said shuttles comprising a pair of rollers well spaced apart in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and adapted for contact with a circular race at one side of the shuttle, an additional roller intermediately spaced in the said direction with reference to said pair of rollers and also spaced therefrom in the direction of the height of the shuttle and adapted for with a circular race contact with the second circular race at that side of the shuttle, and a pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers and adapted to be contacted by a vanewheel at the other side of the shuttle.

8. A shuttle for a circular loom of the character described, said shuttles comprising a pair of rollers well spaced apart in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and adapted for contact at one side of the shuttle, an additional roller intermediately spaced in the said direction with reference to said pair of rollers and also spaced therefrom in the direction of the height of the shuttle and adapted for contact with the second circular race at that side of the shuttle, a member pivotally mounted in the shuttle, and a pair of flanged rollers carried by the member, the pivot of the member being parallel to the axes of the rollers carried by the member and the flanged rollers being disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers and adapted to be contacted by a vane-wheel at the other side of the shuttle.

9. A shuttle for a circular loom of the character described, said shuttles comprising a pair of rollers well spaced apart in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and adapted for contact with a circular race at one side of the shuttle, an additional roller intermediately spaced in the said direction with reference to said pair of rollers and also spaced therefrom in the direction of the height of the shuttle and adapted for contact with the second circular race at that side of the huttle, and a pair of flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair of rollers and adapted to be contacted by a vanewheel at the other side of the shuttle, the spacing between the two circular races being greater than the spacing between the points of contact of the flanged rollers with the vane-wheel.

10. A shuttle for a circular loomof the character described, said shuttles comprising a pair of rollers well spaced apart in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle and adapted for contact with a circular race at one side of the shuttle and a pair of duplex flanged rollers disposed substantially midway in the lengthwise direction of the shuttle between the first pair 'of rollers and adapted to be contacted by a pair of closely spaced rotatable vane-wheels at the other side of the shuttle.

EDWARD KINSELLA. ALFRED CROSS. 

